Remnants Of A Smile
by CrossFaded
Summary: Misaka Mikoto was an assassin working for the Dark Side until she met Kamijou Touma. Years later when they meet again, Mikoto was devastated to see Touma reduced to a mere shadow of his former self with no memories of her. Will Mikoto be able to restore Touma to his former self before being crushed by her own past? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

It's been awhile, but I managed to find more time nowadays so I'm back for now.

This is technically a complete rewrite of "A Mirage To Keep You Safe" because the original is just... pretty silly, and I was a pretty new writer back then so there were a lot of flaws in that story. I'm still glad that people liked that story despite its flaws but I really can't bring myself to continue updating an obviously flawed story (in my opinion). I think Shikaku Zetsumei said it best when he said that "it almost seems like people's personalities are changing every few scenes" and that the "plot seem to be jumping all over the place" so hopefully this rewrite won't make that same mistake again.

Anyway, I hope you like the new story :)

* * *

Mikoto wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell emitted by the simmering corpses around her in District 10.

"I'm a monster."

The only crime those people committed was getting on the wrong side of influential people within the underbelly of Academy City, the world's most technologically advanced city ahead of everyone else by 30 years.

"I'm sick of this."

Mikoto stabbed her temple with the muzzle of her portable railgun.

She had enough of this life where killing was part of her daily routine as a ruthless assassin for hire. Being a monster was too much for her.

"Maybe I should just disappear from this world."

Mikoto closed her eyes with a smile, ready to end her misery when a wet sensation on her face interrupted her. It was an idiotic-looking boy who threw a… cream cake at her.

"It's still too early for you to die!" The boy said.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

A lightning bolt struck the asphalt in front of him.

The boy nonchalantly brushed off dust from his jacket and his black spiky hair.

"This is my life. I'll do what I want with it. It's none of your fucking business. Go away before I get serious. No one has ever returned alive when I get serious." Mikoto said. What exactly does this busybody hero wannabe have up in his sleeves for him to be so calm and confident? Some variant of an anti-electromagnetism ability or armor?

"Your life doesn't only belong to you. What about your family? Your friends? They'll be upset if you died just like that."

Family?

Broken.

Friends?

Gone.

Ever since she got involved in the Dark Side, a term given to the underbelly of Academy City, such things no longer existed in her world.

Deep down inside, she did wish for somebody to be by her side.

Somebody who could tell her that there is no need to kill anymore.

Somebody who would not view her as a freak because of her position in this city.

Mikoto hurled an electric spear at the boy. "Shut up! You know nothing about me!"

The boy waved it away with his right hand as if it was only a play thing that she hurled at him in a childish fit.

Electricity poured out from Mikoto's body and she redirected all of this towards the boy like a roaring electric tsunami. The boy raised his right hand towards Mikoto and clenched it into a fist.

An unnatural sound of shattering glass reverberated through the air. All of the electricity vanished like it was a mere illusion.

"That's a first." Mikoto said.

She fired an orange beam from her portable railgun through his chest. The boy collapsed amongst the pile of charred corpses.

What an idiot. Immunity to her electromagnetic abilities doesn't mean immunity to the force and heat generated by speeding up a metal projectile three times the speed of sound. There were too many idiots who thought that was enough to handle her. She was still a trained assassin without her powers.

Mikoto flipped open her phone to see a message from her mysterious handler.

 _Do you still want your mother alive? If not, go ahead and kill yourself._

That idiotic-looking boy actually had a point. Her life doesn't only belong to herself. If she killed herself, the monsters from the Dark Side might just kill her mother out of spite anyway. Her mother was only alive because of the value she provided to those monsters.

She slipped her portable railgun back into her pocket in tears. There was no escaping from this hell.

* * *

Mikoto laid on her bed inside her school dorm.

It's been six years since that day she met that idiotic-looking boy.

Right now, Misaka Mikoto was a talented Level 5 student in Tokiwadai Middle School. Her days of an assassin for hire was a thing of the past. Her mother was also doing fine studying part-time in an university outside of Academy City without the Dark Side threatening to kill her mother anymore.

A lot happened in between, but if it wasn't for that idiot who somehow survived a railgun shot to his chest, none of this would have been possible.

"Onee-sama~"

A girl with auburn hair tied in two curly pigtails appeared out of thin air and pounced upon Mikoto.

"Kuroko!"

Mikoto couldn't shake off Kuroko who was hugging her like a desperate koala bear so she zapped Kuroko with her lightning.

"Onee-sama, I was only trying to cheer you up." Kuroko sighed. "It's already been a week since you've reached Level 5, but instead of being happy, you seem upset."

Mikoto got up from her bed and reached for the door.

"Where are you going? Curfew time is almost over." Kuroko said.

Mikoto smiled, "I have something urgent to handle, so... I'll be counting on you again to hide my absence from the dorm manager!"

* * *

A glowing green orb beside Mugino Shizuri lifted the shadowy mist surrounding the bridge.

"Kamijou Touma, you're pretty pathetic for a legend who managed to dissolve ITEM by bankrupting all its backer." Shizuri said.

A boy with black spiky hair darted about the bridge before turning behind to face Shizuri. "Who are you? Do I know you?"

Shizuri eyed him suspiciously before she flashed a smile, "I'm Mugino Shizuri, the #4 Level 5 esper and the new leader of ITEM."

"And what has it got to do with me? Yes, you're a Level 5 but I'm just a Level 0, what business would you have with me?"

"You really don't remember me?"

"I think you got the wrong person."

"I don't really care actually."

A green beam flew past Touma's shoulder, only missing his face by mere inches.

"How is it? My Meltdowner is equally as good as the Railgun, no?"

"Railgun? Misaka Mikoto?"

"You don't remember her as well?"

"I... seriously have no idea what you're talking about. And don't fire that thing at me, it's dangerous!"

Shizuri's lips curled into a sadistic smile before she fired a green beam from her palm towards Touma.

The impact of the blast shook the bridge as smoke filled the area.

Touma waved the smoke away with not a single scratch on him.

"Were you lying when you said that you're a Level 0?" Shizuri said.

Her Meltdowner involved manipulating electrons into an unstable state stuck between wave and particle before firing it at her opponent for a sure kill. There was nothing in the world she could not tear apart with her Meltdowner… except for a stupid looking boy's right hand.

Touma briefly glanced at his right hand, "It's just only a small mistake that the SYSTEM scan made. I may be a Level 0, but that right hand of mine can negate any supernatural phenomenon that comes into contact with it."

"Like I give a fuck."

Shizuri fired a few more beams from her palm.

Touma negated one of the beam before dodging the rest by tumbling sideways.

That boy was not lying at all. He could negate at least her Meltdowner with his right hand. However, it was painfully obvious that the range of his ability did not extend to the rest of his body.

She fired more and more beams from her palm at Touma who frantically swept it away with his right hand much to her amusement.

"You're so cute when you do that."

"Let me go! I'm just an innocent Level 0!"

Shizuri picked up her ringing phone with an annoyed sigh. "What is it?"

"You're super late Mugino! Hurry up, we still have a job to do!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Shizuri snapped her phone shut, "I hope that you'll prove to be more challenging when we meet again. If you don't, I'm afraid you won't make it out alive. I still remember our promise, Kamijou Touma."

Touma smiled knowingly, "I don't know what promise you're talking about."

Mugino chuckled as she left the bridge. He was still the same idiot as always.

* * *

In an alley, a group of thugs cornered Mikoto against the wall.

"Hey little girl, wanna play with us?" A thug said.

Mikoto rested against a wall with hands crossed behind her head, "You'd know better than to mess with me."

Another thug snickered as he placed his grimy fingers onto her chest, "Aww, but it'd be so much fun..."

Mikoto shocked the entire group of thugs with her electricity. "When will you scums ever start thinking with your brain? Perverts."

She had planned to loiter around the alley so that she would somehow get into trouble with thugs like them.

Maybe this would lure that idiot out of his hiding. Not to save her, but to save those thugs from being electrocuted by her. However naive and stupid this plan sounded, she would try anything just to meet him once again.

After all, he promised that he'd be back when she reached Level 5.

"You don't have to be so hard on them."

Mikoto turned behind to see a boy with black, spiky hair. Her face flushed crimson red as her heart thumped wildly.

It was him! He remembered after all.

"Hmph. I'm not going to forgive you for being a week late."

Although her legs wanted to bring her close to him so as to hug him and feel the warmth of his chest once again, but she did not want to make things so easy for the jerk who abandoned her for 6 whole years.

Touma looked at the girl baffled. "Huh?"

"You don't remember? You promised you'd definitely be back once I reached Level 5. There was a city-wide public announcement just a week ago so don't say you didn't know."

"Excuse me, but I think that this is the first time that we've met. Err, do you happen to be Misaka Mikoto then? I'm sorry but I don't think I know any Misaka Mikoto."

Mikoto laughed, "What are you saying? Has it been so long that you forgotten me already?"

Touma scratched his head in confusion, "I'm very sure that this is the first time we met."

Mikoto's laughter grew nervous, "It's not funny, you know. Stop it."

"I'm not being funny. This is the first time that we met. I'm sure."

His words sent chills throughout her body. What was going on? Why doesn't he remember anything?

Mikoto took out a phone from the pocket in her skirt. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she held the Gekota keychain strapped onto the phone up close enough for him to see.

All she wanted now was for Touma to tell her that it was all just a prank even though she'd probably hate him forever for playing such a cruel joke. The last thing Mikoto wanted was for him to forget her completely.

"Look. You gave me this before you left. You really don't remember?"

"It's a cute frog but don't you think you're a bit too old for that?" Touma said.

"I.. I'm too old for that?"

Mikoto dropped her phone onto the ground.

The strength of her body melted away as the thought of him forgetting her completely became more of a reality.

A sudden rage from within jerked her back to life.

"You idiot!"

She slapped him before running away in tears.

* * *

Touma picked the phone up from the ground. "I suppose I should return this to her before she regrets it."

He should not have appeared to Mikoto, but a promise is a promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Touma threw a banana peel into the rubbish bin before entering the classroom. It was not by accident that he would slip on a banana peel on his way to morning classes. He was just a boy cursed with misfortune wherever he goes.

"I hope you like it." A girl named Risa said before she handed a bento box to Touma with an embarrassed tinge of red on her face.

"Thanks." Touma said.

Risa was someone he saved from a gang of arrogant espers who enjoyed tormenting lower-leveled espers like Risa. Ever since that incident, she had been giving bentos to him as thanks from time to time.

He placed the bento box on his table, and took a bite of a crispy tempura ebi with a smile.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu, the copycat with the same spiky hairstyle as him but blonde instead of black, stretched his arms as he let out a sigh, "Yet another girl has fallen victim to the Kami-yan disease. Kami-yan, you call yourself misfortunate, but I can't see anything misfortunate about having girls fawn over you for no reason."

"That's right." Aogami Pierce, the resident blue-haired pervert, added. "You can count on Kami-yan to make even a wicked grandmother fall deeply in love with him."

"Aogami, please don't tell me that even wicked grandmothers happen to fall within your area of acceptance as well." Touma said.

Pierce chuckled, "Any females are within my area of appearance. Of course wicked grandmothers are included as well. In fact, I wonder how would it feel like to do it with a wicked grandmother."

Touma stuffed a spoonful of rice into Pierce's mouth, "Repent for what you've said."

Tears streamed down Pierce's cheeks, "That was the most delicious rice I've ever tasted!"

Motoharu skeptically took a spoonful of rice. Tears streamed down his cheeks as well. "Kami-yan, you are indeed blessed by the god of misfortune when it comes to things other than girls falling heads over heels for you."

Touma sighed. "That's not true at all."

Motoharu gave a quick glance at the window, "I guess all depends on how you see it."

Even Motoharu must have noticed the 'spy' on the rooftop of a building across their school with binoculars.

"When will my dream nadeshiko lady with an onee-san type body ever appear? Such misfortune." Touma said.

"You're chasing an impossible ideal, Kami-yan. Give up and accept the reality that life is never going to be perfect." Motoharu said.

Touma continued eating his bento.

Life wasn't always going to be perfect, but wouldn't it be nice if people could just live their lives normally without any worries of getting killed the next second because of some irresponsible magicians or espers abusing their powers? Was that really too much to ask for?

* * *

On the rooftop of a building across Touma's school, Mikoto observed a flustered Touma with her binoculars who seemed to be explaining something to a pink- haired… child?

According to her investigations, this child was his form teacher, Tsukuyomi Komoe.

Earlier this morning, she had hacked into the Bank and various other systems in the city to dig up information regarding Touma.

After his disappearance four years ago, he magically re-appeared at a hospital in Academy City about three months ago, and started his high school life not long after.

Mikoto looked at the Gekota keychain attached to her phone. A spiky-haired boy who was undoubtedly Touma returned it to the nearest Judgement branch last night.

"If that idiot believes that I'm only a mere stranger to him, then I'll first shatter that illusion of his."

Touma was now reading a letter of admission into Misawa Cram School given to him by his teacher.

Given his abysmal score on tests throughout his entire three months in high school, he should have seen it coming.

Mikoto laid down on the concrete. It was partially her fault for being too focused on reaching Level 5 that she failed to notice Touma's reappearance. Even after reaching Level 5, she was still waiting like an idiot for Touma to appear on his own when he doesn't remember anything. Just what happened to Touma? Why did he lose his memories? If only his medical records wasn't locked behind an S grade firewall.

A female face with silver, twinkling stars as eyes blocked her view of the sky.

"Fancy meeting you here." The girl said.

"What are you doing at the rooftop anyway?" Mikoto said. This girl was clearly Misaki's mind-controlled puppet.

"I was just wondering what were you up to. Spying on your boyfriend? I suppose you have every right to be insecure. He's a chick magnet after all. If I'm not wrong, those boys from his school calls it the Kami-yan disease."

"He's not my boyfriend."

Misaki laughed, "But the both of you were holding hands and kissing. If he's not your boyfriend, then what are you to him? A disposable object to fulfill his loneliness?"

Mikoto clenched her fists as she struggled to keep herself from striking that poor girl under Misaki's control with lightning. "It's complicated and I don't think I owe you any explanation regarding our relationship."

"Such a shame he doesn't remember you at all."

"You better not be the one behind it."

Touma had the Imagine Breaker and so was immune to Misaki's ability, but Mikoto knew better not to underestimate Misaki.

"Don't worry, my Mental Out is not powerful enough to tamper with his memories… yet."

Electricity danced around Mikoto's body. "What exactly are you planning?!"

"Just kidding."

"No matter what you're up to, I'll stop you from changing him!" Mikoto shouted at the girl who did a cutesy pose before leaping off the rooftop.

* * *

Mikoto smiled wistfully while hiding behind a streetlamp. "You're still the same person inside even though you no longer remember anything."

In that two hours, Touma slipped on a banana four times, missed the bus six times and got his wallet stolen by somebody. While the banana was him being unlucky, he missed the bus for the sixth time because he went all the way to help a small boy find his toy gun.

Even if he lost all his memories, at least he still remembered somewhere about the pain of being misfortunate. That was why he kept on playing the hero to save strangers even if it costed him his life.

She would not allow that selfish bitch to completely erase that part of Touma with her Mental Out and turn him into her personal meat slave.

"Onee-sama. What are you doing?"

Mikoto turned behind in shock to see Kuroko.

"No-Nothing in particular."

"So you skipped classes because of him?"

Kuroko aimed her Judgement scanner device at Touma waving goodbye to the small boy who finally found his toy gun. "He does have a rather interesting ability, but what relationship do you have with this guy for you to be stalking him for the last two hours or so?"

"Were you stalking me as well?"

"I was just simply worried ab-"

"Look." Touma said, unamused. "Let's stop following each other alright? By the way Miss Judgement, this Level 5 over there has been following me for four hours with about an hour break, not two. Is there anyway you could arrest her for harassment?"

"Ha-Harassment?!" Mikoto said. "You don't know how great of a danger you are in now!"

"I do. You're the danger I'm in now, Biribiri."

Mikoto bit her lip as Touma's words plucked a string in her heart that forced her tears to well up slightly.

She composed herself, careful not to burst into tears. "Who's Biribiri. I have a proper name, you know. It's Misaka Mikoto."

"Unfortunately sir, Judgement are not authorized to arrest Level 5s on their own without backup from Anti-Skill." Kuroko said. "I will however, try and persuade her to stop following you."

While Mikoto tried her best to hold the tears back, some of it managed to escape and rolled down her cheeks as Kuroko dragged her away.

* * *

In a park near a certain vending machine, Mikoto slotted a few coins into the machine and pressed the button for soda twice. Two cans of soda tumbled out soon after.

"Onee-sama. What's wrong? Is he the reason why you cried in your sleep last night? I'll punish him for being so insolent to my onee-sama!" Kuroko said. That boy must be affecting Mikoto a lot if she wasn't in her usual 'zapper' mode where she would illegally zap that vending machine for free drinks.

Mikoto stared at her soda can. "What if I've totally forgotten all about you for some reason or another. How would you feel?"

"Onee-sama…?"

Mikoto hugged Kuroko.

Kuroko smiled as she patted Mikoto's back, "Of course I would feel sad, but the onee-sama I know wouldn't give up that easily. Even if you can't get his memories back, what's stopping you from making new memories with him?"

Mikoto stood up and wiped her tears, "You're right. I can't just sit here and keep crying about something that I can't change."

"That's the spirit." Kuroko said. That was why she loved and admired Mikoto so much. After all, Misaka Mikoto was someone who never gave up and succeeded in reaching Level 5 despite the incredibly low odds.

* * *

Touma scratched his head as he opened up a map on his phone. "Where could that Misawa Cram School be?"

A notification popped out, informing him that the map has encountered an unknown error.

"Such misfortune…"

Perhaps it was karma for making Mikoto cry. He was too used to calling Mikoto with that nickname.

A girl with a blonde hair approached him from behind. " Do you happen to be a student of Misawa Cram School?"

She was wearing a brown vest with a prominent crest at the left side. No doubt this was Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform, but that school was one of the top five schools in District 7. Why would an elite student, especially one with star-shaped irises, choose to go to a cram school?

"Yes. Are you lost by any chance?" Touma said.

The girl giggled, "No. I'm just here to lend a helping hand since you seem lost. I'm a student there as well and I know how difficult it is for first-timers to reach the place."

"How'd you know that? You can read minds?"

"Touma. I don't have to read minds to know that you're lost. Your expression gave it all away."

"Wait..."

The girl handed him a piece of paper, "That's yours, I believe."

His letter of admission into Misawa Cram School had fallen out of his briefcase. That totally must be how she knew his name.

"Thanks."

The girl wrapped her arm around Touma. "Let's go!"

"What's your name by the way?" Touma said.

"You can call me Misaki."

"The Level 5 Shokuhou Misaki?"

Misaki nodded. "You know, I used to know a guy who looked exactly just like you. Every evening, I would hold his arm like this while walking back home together. It's such a shame how things has changed."

"What a coincidence. I used to know a girl who looked exactly just like you. Every evening, she would also hold my arm like this."

"Could you actually be that guy I used to know?"

"It can't be that of a coincidence, right?"

Both Misaki and Touma chuckled.

It had been so long since they locked arms together while walking, but these small bits of happiness was something a sinner like him never deserved to have.

* * *

Turns out that Misawa Cram School was four tall buildings connected by a few skyways that was hardly distinguishable from the rest of the other corporate buildings located in the area. No wonder Misaki said that it was difficult for first-timers to locate the cram school. As expected, the both of them were in the same class.

As Touma entered the classroom with Misaki, he was surprised to see only one girl seated in the middle row.

She seemed to be glaring at him with sparks of electricity fluttering out of her hair. A crackling sound of electricity reverberated through the windowless classroom that looked more like an air-conditioned office cubicle.

"Oh. It's just Biribiri... Wait what?!"

Mikoto tore through the sea of tables and chairs towards Touma. "You idiot!"

Touma bolted out of the classroom. "What did I do to deserve this! Such misfortune!"


	3. Chapter 3

Footsteps echoed through a dark alley.

Index was wrong when she thought she would finally be safe inside Academy City.

A fireball bounced off her Walking Church, a white habit with gold outlines. While the magical defense of her Walking Church was powerful enough to protect her from even the legendary Dragon Breath spell, she could still be physically captured by the red-haired man behind her.

Or the swordswoman who caused a mini earthquake when she landed in front of her.

"There's no place left for you to run. If possible, I'd like for you to come with us peacefully." The swordswoman said.

"And then steal the 103,000 grimoires in my head for your nefarious purposes? Not a chance. Romans 12:19, do not ta-"

The tip of the swordswoman's blade touched Index's throat.

"Try anything funny and the blade goes right through your throat." The swordswoman said.

Index's lips quivered, and an invisible force blasted the woman and the red-haired man into the night sky. This was a spell based on the line from Romans 12:19 "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." in the Bible that was triggered when she finished the required incantations by moving her lips in a very specific manner rather than chanting the words out loud.

Index slipped into another alley from the backdoor of a building. There were twenty-three districts in this city, and Touma could be in any one of them. District 7 seemed promising, but it was still a large area, and also the largest district in the entire city.

There was something she wanted to tell Touma before Necessarius erases her memories again.

"Oh no, my mana supply is running low from casting that spell."

There was a mana restriction system placed inside her. Each day, she could only use a certain amount of mana but her mana will automatically recharge itself when the clock strikes twelve. The original system inside of her had completely destroyed her ability to use magic until Touma changed that with his blasphemous right hand.

An odd feeling struck Index. The flow of mana around her had changed into something not of this world... it's not Telesma but it would not be wrong to define it as mana that belonged to an unknown Phase similar to Telesma.

From the faint lighting, she could make out a starry-eyed girl in the literal sense with blonde hair.

The starry-eyed girl took out a remote from her pocket, "Sleep."

A pair of white wings sprouted from Index's back.

The wings behind her back were just an illusion created by mana, but casting magic was based on Idol Theory, where the caster would find ways to mimic the properties and attributes related to the spell to make said spell more effective. In her case, she was trying to align herself closer to the body of an angel by creating angel wings to make the spell related to that verse in the Bible more effective.

If her defensive spell based on Psalm 91.11 had activated, this meant that whatever she was trying to do did not qualify under magical nor physical attacks.

"Shokuhou Misaki? You're the Level 5 esper who appeared as a guest speaker during last year's Daihasei Festival."

Misaki groaned, "Thanks so much for reminding me about that disaster last year. Do you... by any chance remember what happened?"

"I wasn't even in Academy City last year. Anyway, what do you want from me? The 103,000 grimoires inside my head?"

"Gun. 12 rounds. Fire beyond human recognition at the non-vital parts of the human body."

A blue aura surrounding Index absorbed the barrage of bullets.

The wings behind Index glowed and a huge beam burst forth.

It was the legendary spell known as Dragon Breath.

"Disappear." Misaki said.

The huge beam vanished.

Index blinked. "That's… odd."

What Misaki just did wasn't exactly magic, and her esper ability wasn't supposed to be able to alter reality. It must have something to do with the strange mana from an unknown Phase.

"With Ars Magna, anything I say becomes reality. Or at least I thought it was that straight-forward, but I suppose one has to also factor in the magic ability of the target first."

Ars Magna was an alchemy spell that allows its caster to turn their thoughts into reality via modelling the world and all of its laws.

Index muttered a few incarnations and the desolate street faded away like a movie transiting to the next scene into a building lobby she slipped into after blasting her two pursers away.

However, there were no magical artifacts nor spells that could model the entire world and all of its laws, so any implementation of the Ars Magna were merely theoretical in nature.

Misaki may appear to be using Ars Magna, but her whole setup was just a very convincing fake. She was using something else that could not be analyzed properly because it was relying on that strange mana to function. It was sheer dumb luck that her Spell Intercept worked.

"If anything you say becomes reality, why don't you just remove my Walking Church and finish me?"

Misaki wiped blood from the corners of her lips with a chuckle, "I admit defeat. Your Walking Church is too powerful. The exit is right behind, you may leave."

The exit behind Index was an glass door with no handles that refused to open despite being close enough.

"What's wrong? The mighty Index Librorum Prohibitorum defeated by an automatic sliding door? I'm sure there must be something inside the grimoires that could help you open one." Misaki said.

"I guess I don't have a choice."

The strange mana from an unknown Phase had also covered the area in the form of an almost transparent membrane. The most reliable way out of this pseudo-barrier imprisoning her was to take down the source itself.

Index summoned a flaming sword. This was a spell based on Archangel Michael banishing the morning star Lucifer from Heaven.

Misaki made the sword disappear with her remote.

Fireballs rained down as the area burst into flames. This was from 2 Peter 2:6 where God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. Erasing magic, a blessing from God, is considered an act by the ungodly.

Misaki's eyes turned silver and round in shape while her hair turned pale yellow. "Why do you have to be so difficult?"

A raging storm of fire and ice erupted between Misaki and Index.

Index ran out of mana, and eventually the ice froze most of her body. All Misaki could probably negate with her fake Ars Magna were magic related to dragons. That must have been the focus behind her implementation of this setup.

"I get it now, you're after Touma! No wonder your entire setup is so odd and confusing. All you need now is my 103,000 grimoires to finish him."

"There are so many other people out there after Touma. It might as well be me who would finish him."

The last Index saw of Misaki before being completely encased in ice was a wistful smile.

* * *

Blood oozed from Misaki's eyes, noses, lips as she coughed out blood before collapsing on her knees. This was the consequence of an esper attempting magic. The AIM energy field that all espers subconsciously emits creates a backlash effect when it comes into contact with mana, a power source for magic. Even if she was drawing power from an alternate dimension known as the 'Pure World', it had to be converted into mana to use magic of this world.

A girl with ringlet curls tossed Misaki into a recovery pod. She pressed a button, and the recovery pod lit up.

Misaki felt her consciousness slip away as the regeneration process started to intensify.

The last time she was so close to death was the time before Touma and her entered Academy City to escape the vengeful people who pinned all their misfortunes on them.

Her memories at that time were hazy, but she could vaguely remember Touma hugging her, promising her that he would get her out alive.

It was around that time that she completely fell in love with him.

That's why…

"I'd do anything for your sake, even if it means you'll hate me to the point where you think I'm better off dead."

* * *

It was break time from classes in Misawa Cram School, so Touma and Misaki decided to grab something to eat at the cafeteria.

Mikoto tagged along, unwilling to leave him alone with Misaki. Being a student of this cram school was surprisingly easy, and she was also 'coincidentally' placed in the same class as the both of them. All of this must be Misaki's doing. What exactly was she planning? There was no point in investigating when Misaki could just tamper with people's memories and render any information unreliable. Disgusting.

Mikoto glared at Misaki who smiled back in response.

Touma took a spoonful of curry rice and fed Misaki, "Thanks to your warning Mikoto, I just realized how much danger I am in right now."

"That's right. I'm a very dangerous lady when I don't get fed by my beloved King." Misaki said.

Mikoto suppressed an ominous crackle. "Can't you feed yourself? What are you? Five?"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who is still wearing those childish Gekota panties." Misaki said.

"Ho-How do you even know that, you pervert?! Serves you right for getting your panties exposed during last year's Daihasei Festival opening speech."

Misaki whipped out her remote with her face flushed red. "Th-That's just an urban rumor! It's not true at all!"

Mikoto winced at the recoil as Misaki applied her powers around everyone else to erase their memories. "Geez. You don't have to be that paranoid."

Misaki pouted as she pushed a spoonful towards Touma, "I can't finish my food. Could you please finish it for me?"

Touma took the spoon away from Misaki with a sigh, "Thanks, but I can feed myself."

"Are you alright Touma?" Mikoto said. Something seemed to be troubling him. Maybe he was trying to remember something, but couldn't.

"I'm fine, just a little tired from classes." Touma said.

Touma swerved behind to block a kick from Kuroko.

Kuroko teleported away but Touma grabbed her by the neck as soon as she reappeared.

Touma flashed an embarrassed smile as he dropped Kuroko. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you."

Misaki pressed a remote button. Everyone else in the cafeteria gave Kuroko a quick glance before returning back to their food like nothing has happened.

"Kuroko, why are you here and why are you attacking Touma?" Mikoto said.

"I just simply cannot stand this bimbo trying to steal your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

Kuroko pointed a finger at Touma, "Is this some sort of a cruel joke that you enjoy playing with my onee-sama? Do you really remember nothing at all? Do you at least remember what Shokuhou Misaki did in the past?"

"I need some fresh air." Touma left the cafeteria with a dark scowl.

"Hey, wait up!" Mikoto said.

Kuroko held Mikoto back from chasing Touma, "There's something I need to tell you."

* * *

Touma leaned over the railing at the skyway.

The bustling scene of the district seemed like a mirror that reflected the chaos that was running amok in his mind.

Kuroko was right. It was cruel to pretend that he lost all his memories in front of Mikoto. He really shouldn't have appeared that night, but he had to at least fulfil his promise before he actually lost all his memories for good.

Stiyl lit up a cigarette, "I really shouldn't be bothering you, but Index has been captured and I think even Kaori might not be powerful enough to defeat Ars Magna."

"You want me to save Index? To be honest, I'm not so sure if I still have enough power to do so."

Stiyl was a towering man wearing a robe with a barcode tattoo under his right eye, but it was incredible how his actual age was actually 14.

"Tell me, what exactly happened to you?"

Touma negated a bloody fist hurled towards him casted by the shrine maiden Himegawa Aisa.

Aisa manifested a bloody sword construct and swung the blade overhead which shattered into nothing upon contact with Touma's right hand.

"Like I'd believe the Devil would be reduced to nothing that easily." Aisa said.

Aisa raised a hand, "Critical Blood Curse."

A red magic circle appeared underneath Touma. The pain felt like a thousand needles stabbing at his internal organs all at once, but it wasn't going to kill him. He was still misfortunate enough to survive a nuclear bomb.

A fiery wave from Touma's right hand flashed through Aisa, and her curse magic fell apart.

He was called the Devil not only because of his magic negating flames, but also for tempting people to consume the forbidden 'fruit of knowledge' stored within his Imagine Breaker.

Aisa was someone who consumed the 'fruit of knowledge' and now she could cast specialized magic despite being a Gemstone.

"Why are you asking this scum for help? We should be eliminating him for the good of the Magic Side. For you all know, he might be the one behind Index's kidnapping." Aisa said.

"Aisa, I know you still bear a grudge against Touma, but it's not the time for that."

"Kamijou Touma, if you still care about Index, then meet me at the lobby of Misawa Cram School." Aisa said before leaping off the skyway.

Stiyl let out a puff of smoke, "You know, pretending you have memory loss is the cruelest thing you could do to someone who still cares about you."

"I have my reasons."

Touma leaped off the skyway. No one should really care about a sinner like him anyway.

* * *

Mikoto sat at a staircase just outside the cram school building with several juice cans lying about.

Why? What was going on? Why was he pretending that he lost all his memories?!

A British girl with a metal tail sticking out from the back of her skirt picked up a juice can, "Mind if I take one?"

"You're Lessar, right? What exactly is your relationship with Touma?"

"An ally."

Lessar was the one who told Kuroko about Touma's pretence and the scene with Touma and two other person at the skyway confirmed it.

"What happened? Why is Touma pretending that he lost all of his memories?"

"He's… He may not look like it, but he's suicidal and depressed. You see, he started a war that killed millions of people and the guilt for failing to achieve anything out of this was probably too much for him to bear."

"Why did he start th-"

"It's a long story. Listen, someone is being held hostage inside the cram building."

"Index?"

"Yes. It's a trap to lure Touma into a place where he can be killed. Touma knows this because I told him, but he doesn't care. It's hard to explain the details to someone outside of the Magic Side but just know that once Touma enters a specific location inside the building, he dies."

"Who wants him dead?"

"Shokuhou Misaki."

Mikoto dashed into the cram school building.

That idiot! And to think he was the one who lectured her about the importance of living on!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks to ArmoredCoreNineBall, I made some slight changes on Chapter 1 and 2, but Chapter 2 has the most changes, especially the part where Mikoto was spying on Touma from above the rooftop.

So for this chapter, we have Misaki using magic... not exactly in the normal way, but there will be more details in the next chapter.

And regarding the "fruit of knowledge" inside the Imagine Breaker, it would make sense that being the reference point of this world, the Imagine Breaker would contain knowledge of the entire world and all of its laws.

Lastly, as for Touma starting a war, there is a clue in Chapter 2 to why he did that, but the reason will be revealed in the next chapter. It's my personal interpretation that a Touma who didn't lose his memories would have a clear reason to why he was fighting to save others (even if he doesn't say it out loud directly) instead of the Touma in canon who doesn't need a reason to save others. I think the canon Touma simply doesn't remember the reason why because of his memory loss, but the feelings remain.

Anyway, hope you like the chapter :)


	4. Chapter 4

Mikoto stepped into the lobby of Misawa Cram School and looked around to see students loitering around the lobby while chatting about mundane things. Touma or that shrine maiden girl Aisa was nowhere to be seen.

She headed to the receptionist, "I'm sorry, but have you seen a boy with black, spiky hair. His name is Kamijou Touma."

The receptionist ignored her.

"Hello? I'm talking to you!"

Mikoto clicked her tongue. It must be Misaki's Mental Out at play. She cursed herself for being too impulsive. She should have gotten more details from Lessar first before rushing into the damm building to find Touma. Now what?

A violent expansion of the air knocked Mikoto to the ground. While protecting herself with an electric barrier from the onslaught of wires, she noticed a translucent membrane protecting the people from any harm. Even the ground which should have been torn apart, and the glass that should have been shattered into pieces was also protected by the membrane.

"So you're at the 'back of the coin' just like me. What is an esper like you doing here anyway?" A lady wearing a skimpy outfit with a long Japanese sword by her waist said.

"That's what I should be asking you." Mikoto said. "Who are you and what the hell is going on? Anyway, have you seen a guy with a black, spiky hair? His name is Kamijou Touma."

"No, I have not."

"Then do you know anything about Index being held hostage in this building?"

"No."

"Then why are you in this building?"

The lady placed a hand on the hilt of her sword with a dangerous glint in her eyes, "It's none of your business."

Electricity danced around Mikoto. Why is that lady being so defensive? What is she hiding? Is she also involved in kidnapping Index and luring Touma to his death?

Lessar jumped in between the both of them, "Calm down. This Level 5 esper over here just wants to know where Touma is. She doesn't know much about Index and the Magic Side."

Kaori relaxed her grip on her sword, "I see. If you find Index, let me know." before heading further into the building through the staircase.

Mikoto heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god you're here."

"You really shouldn't run off just like that. I wasn't even done with what I wanted to say."

"Sorry." Mikoto said. At that time she was more concerned with finding Touma and reaching the lobby before him than whatever Misaki was planning. "And what's with that sword lady anyway? Why is she being so defensive?"

Unknown to Mikoto, there was a treaty signed by Academy City that forbids them from interfering with any 'Magic Side' issues. That was why the sword lady named Kanzaki Kaori got so defensive.

Also, the shrine maiden Himegami Aisa and Kanzaki Kaori may had some history with Touma due to the war he caused, but they were more concerned with retrieving Index than bringing any harm to him. In fact, none of them were Touma's match anyway.

"I'll explain the rest along the way. Let's go."

* * *

To most people of the world including Academy City, the war Touma started was a series of natural disasters that destroyed countless lives all over the world. But to those in the Magic Side, this war was like the Sengoku Period where Touma wanted to unify and control everyone in the Magic Side just like Nobunaga Oda.

It got so serious that even Academy City got involved despite the treaty. Mikoto now understood why of all people, the strongest esper Suzushina Yuriko would end up as a disaster relief volunteer.

Touma defeated even Academy City and it was only a matter of time before he succeeded. However, one day, he disappeared and that was the end of the war. When Mikoto asked why, Lessar said it was because Touma went to save a girl despite knowing that it was a trap to strip him of his powers.

"Do you hate him for what he did? I mean, you were his ally in the war after all." Mikoto said as she walked across the corridor with Lessar. It wasn't surprising that Touma would do such a thing. Because of him insisting on saving her from the Dark Side, Touma broke up with his childhood friend turned couple Shokuhou Misaki.

Lessar smiled, "Leivina hates him to the core, but I don't. Touma wouldn't be Touma if he didn't do that innit?"

"Yeah, I do."

It was such a shame that Misaki didn't see things the same way as Lessar. Stupid bitch. What does she want to do? Change Touma's personality into something that was agreeable to her or kill him if that doesn't work out?

"Anyway, how do you know that Shokuhou Misaki was behind all this?" Mikoto said.

"Long story short, she sent me a ransom note asking to bring Touma in exchange for Index. I wasn't sure what magic Shokuhou Misaki was using, if she was actually using magic in the first place, so I referred the case to an organisation called Necessarius and they sent that swordwoman you met just now to retrieve Index."

"So does that mean Shokuhou also sent the same ransom note to the red-haired guy and Himegami? Was that why they approached Touma?"

"Perhaps. But it's more likely that they had no idea what they're dealing with so they asked Touma for help."

Lessar placed a hand on the wall, "I've never seen anything like this before. I suspect Shokuhou Misaki must have made a contract with a demon or something."

"Demons? Really?"

Mikoto shuddered at the thought of a deranged Misaki stained with blood in front of ouija boards and dancing inside satanic rituals. Well… there's really no telling how far that bitch would go just to make Touma hers again, or whatever she may be planning.

"The magic she's using is so darn dodgy that she probably made a contract with a shitty arse demon who doesn't know what it's doing."

Mikoto chuckled, "That's what Shokuhou wants you to think. Trust me, she knows exactly what she's doing."

But one thing was clear, Misaki had no intention of killing Touma. Lessar probably thought that Misaki was one of the many people who was after Touma's life because of the war he started.

Mikoto hated how Touma would always go out of his way to not implicate others in his problems even though he would butt in and get himself implicated in other people's problem even when it's none of his business.

Right now, there must be a lot of people after Touma. Some might even target the people close to him, like her or Misaki. Maybe Touma wishes to die because he thinks his death would put an end to all this.

"Is Touma suicidal because he also thinks his death would put an end to all the mess he made?"

"Exactly!" Lessar said. "That's why I want you to talk some fucking sense into him. It's ridiculous how he doesn't get that it's alright to rely on others for help sometimes."

Mikoto sighed. "And yet he expects others to rely on him. That's the part I really hate about him."

Anyway, the highest priority was to find Touma and get everything straightened out.

Mikoto surrounded herself with an iron sand barrier and deflected the barrage of green arrows from an medieval knight clad in full body metal armor. He held a longbow up and fired those arrows like a machine gun.

She understood little about magic in combat other than to expect the unexpected, pour enough energy into her attacks and pray it works. Fortunately, Lessar was here… wait, where's Lessar?!

"I teleported Lessar somewhere else so she wouldn't interfere." The knight's voice was deep but forced to be disgustingly high-pitched, suggesting that the person inside the armour was a middle-aged man controlled by Misaki.

"What exactly are you planning? Are you really planning to kill Touma?"

"As much as I hate it, Touma has to die. If he has to die either way, I might as well be the one killing him."

Mikoto swung a lightning spear from her hand and destroyed all the incoming arrows. "Fuck you!"

She then burst forth towards the knight to slash his amour, but when her spear dispersed upon contact, she leaped over the knight, dodging yet another barrage of arrows.

"Oh dear," Misaki put a hand to her mouth, "I never knew you could be so vulgar."

"Kill him? You want complete control over him, don't you?"

The knight's amour shimmered red, and repeatedly crashed into Mikoto's barrier at a very high speed.

"Honestly, I don't owe you any explanation with regards to my plans."

Mikoto dropped her barrier and propelled herself through the open exit of an corridor before running at full speed across another corridor of classrooms that seemed to stretch towards infinity.

It was a mistake to even ask. Shokuhou Misaki was never the type of villain who would gleefully reveal her plans and laugh at how dumb her opponent was the whole time.

Misawa Cram School was four buildings connected by a few skyways. Each building had 60 floors with countless classrooms on every floor. Touma could be in any one of them, and if Misaki could use 'magic' and teleport Lessar somewhere, what's stopping Misaki from teleporting her as well?

How was she going to fight against something that disgusting?

"... What do I do now?"

Misaki took away her only source of information regarding magic. There was no Lessar to help her figure out a way to defeat Misaki or find Touma.

Mikoto stopped by a cafeteria with a beautiful interior comparable to the cafes in Seventh Mist to catch her breath. Back in another cafeteria not long ago, Misaki seemed so comfortable around Touma that was almost unthinkable that Misaki would actually want Touma dead.

Misaki was definitely after something else.

 _As much as I hate it, Touma has to die. If he has to die either way, I might as well be the one killing him._

There was a thing in the Dark Side where if agents working in the Dark Side are convinced that someone is executed and dead, they will not go after that person again.

Was that what Misaki was planning? To "execute" Touma so as to appease the people from the Magic Side who suffered from the war caused by him?

All the students in the cafeteria stood up and stared blankly at Mikoto with silver glassy eyes.

One student began muttering, "The wings of the seraph shines brightly and the bright light is a pure white color that reveals all sins…"

Hovering in front of each student's forehead was a bluish-white orb. More and more of such orbs began to appear inside the cafeteria and around Mikoto.

Mikoto unleashed a few lightning bolts, but it seemed to have no effect on the orbs nor the students. Why was she even trying? None of her electricity will ever work against anything here.

Mikoto created an iron sand net and scooped up all the orbs before crushing it with clenched teeth. The only law of physics that magic seem to obey was power, or the amount of energy transferred over time!

She hurled herself sideways down a staircase to dodge laser beams from the students and sped off at full speed again.

Damm it.

It was impossible to systematically check every location when she had to keep retreating because of that bullshit magic.

Of course something meant to kill Touma had to be magic. Touma's own power was never something that could be analyzed by science.

Mikoto stopped by a cafeteria with a beautiful interior comparable to the cafes in Seventh Mist to catch her breath. It was the same cafeteria she stopped by with the same students inside standing up with a blank stare.

One student began muttering, "The wings of the seraph shines brightly and the bright light is a pure white color that reveals all sins…"

Hovering in front of each student's forehead was a bluish-white orb. More and more of such orbs began to appear inside the cafeteria and around Mikoto.

Mikoto left by the staircase at the side only to arrive at the same cafeteria with the same glassy-eyed students staring blankly at her and the bluish-white orb.

One student began muttering, "The wings of…"

She knocked aside the orbs with her iron sand sword and left by a different exit only to arrive at the same place again. No matter what exit Mikoto chose, there was no escaping the cafeteria and the glassy-eyed students.

Mikoto raised a barrier against the laser beams and orbs as she heard a faint giggle in the background. That bitch.

There must be a way through without killing the students under Misaki's control by crushing them with her iron sand net. She was no longer the monster who chose murder as her first option to solve problems.

"Wait..."

Shokuhou Misaki may have the ability to control minds, but she technically did so by controlling liquids in the brain.

The translucent membrane on the ground, as expected, absorbed her electricity like a sponge despite looking like a liquid coating which might or might not be related to Misaki's ability.

Lessar determined that the magic used by Misaki was dodgy just by touching it.

Maybe she could do the same in her own way.

Mikoto whipped out her PDA and placed a hand on the ground while generating electric pulses. Strange symbols mixed with binary code appeared on the screen.

What the hell? It actually worked? Expect the unexpected indeed!

The entire thing was surprisingly a computer simulation, but the magic was mostly in turning any changes made in the simulation into reality and some other unknown things. No wonder Lessar said the magic was dodgy. There was a pretty substantial amount of science mixed inside.

She clicked her tongue. While there was no way to take over the simulation, it was possible to bring it down by jumbling and altering the code and symbols.

"Better than nothing I guess."

* * *

Mikoto wiped blood off her face as she dragged herself through the empty cafeteria. The students were all an illusion turned into reality by the simulation. Even the receptionist below and the chatting students were the same as well.

Now to find Touma.

Her vision blurred and her head kept throbbing in pain. The magic within Misaki's simulation after crushing it must have done this to her somehow.

"Touma…?"

Mikoto collapsed into Touma's arms. She had finally found him.

Touma smiled. "Thanks for saving Index."

"Don't..."

Mikoto felt her consciousness slipping away.

No! This can't be happening! She still had so many questions to ask him!

"...go."

That was all Mikoto could manage before she fell unconscious.

* * *

Lessar carried an unconscious and bloodied Mikoto over her shoulders. She didn't manage to tell Mikoto that if an esper like her were to cast magic whether intentionally or unintentionally, she would suffer from a backlash.

As a reward for managing to take down the barrier, Lessar decided to shapeshift into Touma using Norse magic in front of a dying Mikoto who wasn't in any shape to be talking Touma out of suicide.

"What rotten luck."

* * *

Touma entered the lobby with Aisa.

According to Aisa from Kaori, there is a barrier in the form of a translucent membrane inside the building preventing people at the 'back' to interact with anything at the 'front'.

An analogy would be the front and the back sides of a coin. Those at the 'back' cannot interfere with anything at the 'front'. They were at the 'back' and anything else inside the building covered by the membrane would be at the 'front'."

"And you need my right hand to destroy that barrier to save Index?"

"That's right."

Touma summoned a wave of flames that shattered the people around them into pixelated dust, but the people reappeared as soon as the dust dissipated. He may have the power to negate the output of this strange Ars Magna like setup, but there was a core his flames needed to touch to take down the whole thing for good.

"Are you able to figure out where the core is located?"

"Pathetic scum." Aisa said. "No. I don't even understand what kind of magic is the barrier using. Do you?"

"All I can do now is negate magic."

Before he got his powers stripped, he had a similar ability like Index to analyze magic and counter it by accessing the knowledge stored within his Imagine Breaker. However, he could still sense that the barrier was using something beyond magic and science of this world. It was no doubt Misaki who was behind this. She kidnapped Index to lure him into somewhere inside this building.

"But can you still save Index from having her memories erased every year?"

"Aisa…" Touma sighed, "I'm sorry. I can't do that."

Aisa slapped Touma with tears on her face, "You promised! You promised you'd save Index from losing her memories! Why are you breaking your damm promise again?!"

Saving Index from losing her memories meant completely destroying the system that was restraining her from using any amount of mana she wants.

"Do you really wish to see another war within the Magic Side?"

Index with no restraints was as good as turning her into a pseudo Magic God. Whatever happens as a result of that would definitely not end up in everyone signing a peace treaty, hold hands and make the world a better place.

He was once a disgusting person who didn't care about the millions of people who would suffer from a war. Not saving Index from her annual memory erasure because of his own selfish reasons was his biggest regret. Partially removing her mana usage restriction was just his pathetic way of making himself feel better. That he actually did something for Index.

However, if saving Index now would mean that he would start another war, he would rather let the regret crush his soul for eternity.

"I don't care."

The people around them vanished, and the translucent membrane was no more.

Kaori dragged Aisa by her collar while carrying an unconscious Index over her shoulder, "But I do. The Magic Side cannot afford any more wars."

"How'd you manage to destroy the barrier and save Index?" Touma said.

"Well, you can thank Misaka Mikoto for that."

"Mikoto?"

"Don't worry, she has been safely sent to the hospital."

"You gotta be kidding me!"

Touma dashed out of the lobby. It must have been Lessar. Otherwise why the heck was Mikoto using magic in the first place?!

* * *

Misaki sat at the oak table inside the principal office while admiring the stars.

It was rather impressive that Mikoto somehow figured out that this whole thing was just a simulation powered by mana from the "Pure World" meant to trap magicians like Index and confuse other magicians who would come after Index.

The "Pure World" by nature is a magicless world using technology so advanced that one might as well call it magic, but the foundations were still based on Academy City technology, so electromasters like Mikoto with enough knowledge could easily take it down just like hacking into a computer system.

However, for anything from the "Pure World" to work in this world, there will be some elements of magic because of the Phases layered upon this world. What a pain.

Setting the whole simulation back up again wasn't very hard though, but it took so much time that by the time she was done, Index had already escaped with the magicians after her.

Misaki heard footsteps from behind, "Why are you here? Index has already been saved by someone else."

Touma sat beside Misaki as he passed her a box, "You know, all you had to do was ask and I'd come."

"Even if it means walking into a trap meant to kill you?"

"Yeah."

Misaki chuckled, "But you do realize that this is actually a trap meant to keep you alive, right?"

She opened the box to see her favorite cream cake from District 15. Touma would always walk an extra hour on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays just to get her this.

"It's fine."

Touma was only here to indulge her selfishness as always. It was the same reason why he was willing to walk an extra hour just to get her cream cake.

"Why are you still so nice to me? If it wasn't for me, you would have achieved your goal of unifying the Magic Side as its new supreme ruler."

The both of them made a contract with beings from the "Pure World" to do things they normally couldn't do by borrowing their powers.

For Touma, he made a contract with a being who calls herself Amaterasu, the sun goddess in Japanese Mythology. That was more of her choosing a suitable avatar like in a RPG to establish contact with Touma in this world than being an actual sun goddess.

The terms of the contract was that Touma would erase all magic and in exchange he could use her powers to wield the Imagine Breaker as a superuser with root privileges. Unifying the Magic Side was just part of the plan.

If he fails to fulfill his contract, he dies.

For Misaki, she made a contract with a being who calls himself Tsukiyomi, the moon god in Japanese Mythology. Just like Amaterasu, he was not an actual moon god.

The terms of her contract was to stop Touma from erasing all magic and in exchange she could use his powers to cast magic like an expert magician with no training. Her speciality was ice magic though.

If she fails to fulfill her contract, she dies.

Touma willingly let himself be stripped of his power so that he could save her from death.

All because of her selfishness to live in a world without Touma if he were to succeed in erasing all magic.

"Because I don't need a reason to be nice to you."

Misaki pressed a button on her remote with a smile, "It's time. Revelation 20:10. Activate."

Touma exploded into flames as streaks of light flashed across the night skies.

Rather than leaving Touma's fate to Amaterasu, or the magicians after him, or even Touma himself, it would be better if she decides his fate by dealing with him in her own way.

This might look like a 'spell' based on the part where God condemned the Devil into the Lake Of Fire for rebelling against Him, but it was really an exploit that nullifies the contract between Touma and Amaterasu before 'condemning him into the Lake Of Fire'.

Misaki picked up a right arm from the ashes.

Good. The Imagine Breaker has not moved on to a new host. This means that Touma is technically not dead.

As for his memories…

"I guess we'll have to enter the 'Lake Of Fire' to retrieve them, wherever that place may be among the Phases layered upon this world."

* * *

Mikoto woke up in a hospital to see a worried Kuroko seated beside her bed.

"Onee-sama, you're awake!" Kuroko said, relieved.

"Where's Touma? Have you seen him? Did you ask what happened to him? Is he really suicidal and depressed?"

Mikoto cursed herself for falling unconscious right before she could ask him those questions herself. But she somehow managed to save Index by destroying Misaki's simulation. Everything felt like a bad dream, but at least it was all over. Touma never lost his memories and still remembers her!

"Onee-sama. I… don't know how to tell you this, but he lost his memories for good."

Mikoto laughed nervously, "This must be some kind of a prank, right?"

"I'm not joking around with you."

"But how…?"

Did Misaki managed to reboot her simulation, trap Index again, and then lure Touma to a certain location using Index as bait before wiping his memories?

Misaki entered the ward with a triumphant smile, "By successfully bypassing his Imagine Breaker and then use my Mental Out to wipe his memories."

Mikoto pinned Misaki to the wall, rage seething from the electricity jumping around her body. "Why would you do such a thing to him?! Answer me!"

"Don't be so upset. He hasn't completely forgotten about you. You'll understand once he's awake."

"Shut up! Give him back his memories before I electrocute you to death!"

Misaki smirked, "Go ahead. Electrocute me. I know you're still the monster deep down inside who kills for a living."

Mikoto fell to the ground, defeated. She slammed a fist on a puddle of tears and released electromagnetic waves that destroyed the medical equipment around her. Nothing would change even if she killed Misaki.

"This isn't over yet."

There was still hope in the form of magic.

* * *

Misaki sighed as she flipped open her phone while entering a black limousine.

It would have been nice if she could work directly with Mikoto to retrieve Touma's memories from the 'Lake Of Fire', but it was better if Mikoto continues to think of her as an enemy.

After all…

"How's the progress with the Radio Noise Project?"

She was the overall-in-charge of a project that involves 20,000 Misaka Mikoto clones.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

This is the final chapter of the mini-arc (?) to flesh out how exactly did Touma 'turn into a shadow of his former self' as stated in the summary. I hope that this chapter clears things up instead of making things even more confusing. If it's confusing, please let me know how so that I can improve further :)

As for the beings from the "Pure World", I'll just add on and spoil you guys a little that it is them that came to Touma and Misaki on their own, and not Touma or Misaki doing some weird ritual to summon them.

Lastly, while I cannot confirm what exactly the pairings will be, it sure as hell will not be Touma x Harem. Personally for me I think there will be two endings, one being Touma x Mikoto if I complete this story as a standalone story, and the other being Touma x Misaki if I write a sequel.

I'd like to thank everyone for leaving their thoughts and opinions on this story, and special thanks to ArmoredCoreNineBall for going into details on how I can improve the story.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

 _P.S. Please don't hate me for turning Accelerator into a girl._


	5. Chapter 5

Mikoto opened the door, her heart filled with dread upon facing Touma who had already awaken from his coma. The doctor said that there was no visible damage to his brain, so it was unlikely he would suffer from any memory loss, but Mikoto knew better. It was possible for Misaki to alter memories without causing any damage to the brain and magic just made that even a stronger possibility.

"Hey, glad you're awake." Mikoto said.

"Oh it's you Biribiri."

Electric sparks escaped from Mikoto's bangs, "It's Misaka Mikoto you idiot, not Biribiri!"

That was odd. Misaki did say that she wiped Touma's memories, but he seems to remember everything. What's the catch?

Touma smiled sheepishly "Sorry, I lost my memories again so I can't remember what was your real name. Such misfortune."

Apparently, Touma vaguely remembers meeting her at the alley and her stalking him the next day after but he forgot everything that happened in the cram school and the rest of his past.

"By the way, do you remember about an international war you started in the past?"

"You gotta to be kidding me. I can't possibly be that misfortunate!"

Index, the silver-haired nun, popped out from under the bed, "Do you remember me as well? I'm Index!"

"No…" Touma said. "What's my relationship with the both of you anyway?"

"We're your good friends. Anyway, glad to know that you're fine. We shan't disturb your rest any longer. By the way, I was joking about the war thing. Don't take it to heart." Mikoto forced a chuckle before leaving the room with Index.

So Misaki only partially erased Touma's memories… why? Not being able to figure out why was the most frustrating part. Was Misaki really planning on changing Touma's personalities to her liking, or was it something different?

Mikoto sighed. There was no point in thinking about why. Misaki was just too complicated to figure out.

Index devoured a piece of chicken cutlet, "I can sense it. A part of him is being trapped somewhere within the Phases."

"Phases?"

"I guess you can call it an alternate dimension, but it's real-"

"So if I enter this alternate dimension, I can restore his memories?"

"Yes, but to be exact, hi-"

"So how do I do that?"

When it comes to magic, this nun was undoubtedly the best in her field. She was so powerful that a complicated system had been installed within her to seal her magic. As Touma used his Imagine Breaker to adjust the system so that Index can use some of her magic, Index could somehow sense the Imagine Breaker telling her what was wrong with Touma.

Index pouted. "Could you please stop interrupting me?"

"Sorry, I just got too anxious."

"As I was saying, with my 103,000 grimoires, I've already figured out a way to get Touma back but I need an expert magician proficient in Golden-style magic and is also willing to risk her mind being contaminated by the grimoires."

The expert magician in question was an unconscious British girl named Leivinia Birdway. She was cursed by a spell that 'condemned her to the Lake Of Fire', which is to say that she will never regain consciousness because there was no 'key' in the Bible to free her from the 'Lake Of Fire'.

Lessar's eyes were puffy and she looked like she was going to fall apart any moment. Her relationship with Touma must have been something more than allies. Idiot Touma. Why are all so many of his allies and friends girls anyway?!

Mikoto chided herself for getting jealous. This was not the time for that.

Lessar passed Mikoto a slip of paper, "I'm going back to London to finish up some work. Let me know once you find a way to wake Leivinia up."

Written inside was Lessar's number, and the numbers of her three other group members in case she wasn't contactable. Apparently, Lessar belongs to a small British magic organization named New Light dealing with work related to magic in the UK. In the worst case scenario, Mikoto could fly to UK and find her by asking around for New Light.

"Are you okay? Maybe you should take a break from work and clear your mind a little."

Lessar waved off Mikoto's concerns, "I'm fine. And don't worry about contacting Index, I'll handle it for you."

While there was no magic that could free Leivinia from her coma, science was a different story. The plan now was to find a scientific method and pray that Index doesn't recaptured by the magicians after her before that.

* * *

Kuroko shook her head in disappointment as the tester announced the results of her System Scan, a regular city-wide testing event in Academy City conducted over a few days to determine the Levels of their students.

 _Result(Teleportation): 78.23 metres. 54 centimetres. from the specified target. Overall evaluation – Level 4._

She would have done better if it wasn't for Judgement work and that stupid ape Kamijou Touma whose only purpose was to make Onee-sama cry day and night for him. All Onee-sama wanted was to just be with him, and this guy had the audacity to pretend that he lost his memories in front of her before choosing to lose all his memories!

Lessar even had a big fight with that ape in the hospital but there was nothing she could do to convince him not to 'be a bloody wanker' by letting Shokuhou Misaki wipe all his memories.

Kuroko sighed before turning to see Kongo Mitsuko covering her face with a fan while laughing obnoxiously.

"At this rate, I will probably reach Level 5 before you, don't you agree?" Mitsuko said.

"Please don't compare your ability with mine. Eleven dimensions are a whole different story from just three… are you even listening to me?!"

This air-headed transfer student was still rambling on and on even when it was clear that no one was listening to her. Of all the transfer students that entered Tokiwadai this term, Kongo Mitsuko was both the highest levelled at Level 4 and the most arrogant.

"...Additionally, I can't stand the way you act all important, even though you are a mere first grader. Listen, you, when everyone calls me Tokiwadai's Ace, you'll de-"

A shockwave knocked Mitsuko off her feet.

"Wh-What's going on?" Mitsuko said.

Kuroko pointed at the direction of the pool with a smug grin, "You might not be aware since you've only just transferred in this term but the person whose ability is being measured over there is our current Tokiwadai's Ace."

Another shockwave shook the area.

"She has so much destructive power that they can't measure it properly without dampening it using the pool. Are you prepared to face it head on? By the way..."

Mitsuko stared at Kuroko dumbfounded, "What...?"

"That's not the only thing you should be afraid of."

* * *

Mikoto left the pool with a satisfied smile on her face. She took the System Scan at another facility a week ago, so she didn't really have to participate but the school insisted that she participate because it was compulsory for all student to do so and she also didn't want any preferential treatment just because of her status as a Level 5.

Today was a good day. Her results were even better than the previous one.

 _Result (Railgun): Maximum projectile velocity at 1030 meters per second. Rapid fire mode at 8 shots per minute. Impact distribution at 18 millimeters. Combined accuracy of all shots at 99.993%. Overall evaluation – Level 5._

* * *

Mikoto rubbed shampoo into her hair as the warm water washed the sweat off her body. While it was still too early to say waking Leivinia up would mean recovering all of Touma's memories, at least there was hope.

Medical information about patients are often locked away behind an S grade firewall, but Leivinia's condition was so unusual that it was made public in the hopes someone would be able to find a cure.

Levinia's brain had no neurological activity, but her organs continue to operate as per usual without the help of any machines. If it wasn't her brain sending electrical signals to keep her organs working, then what? The answer was obviously magic, and she had to use science to figure out how to crack the magic behind Levinia's condition.

"One step at a time I guess..."

"Maybe you should tone down your power a little," Kuroko said from the opposite shower cubicle, "You even knocked down a transfer student with the shockwaves you were generating."

"Was it really that bad? Honestly, I'd love to have a much more convenient ability like yours Kuroko. Those tests can get really annoying after a while."

All Kuroko had to do for her System Scan was to teleport something heavy and be done with it, but for Mikoto, shooting a Railgun wasn't her only ability. She also had to go through a battery of tests for her other electromagnetic abilities like controlling iron sand for example.

"Like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. Who wouldn't want to be in your position as Tokiwadai's Ace?"

Being Tokiwadai's Ace was just a silly title given to her because she was the highest ranked esper in Tokiwadai. If she had a choice, she'd rather be a carefree Level 0 than to be a Level 5 hiding her dirty past behind a glamourous facade.

"Just kidding." Kuroko said. "That being said..."

Mikoto felt a pair of hands groping her chest. It was Kuroko who teleported into her shower cubicle.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

"I heard massaging one's chest during puberty can encourage a bigger growth spurt. The modest size of your chest is what I like most about you but Onee-sama, if you really want a bigger chest, then let me fulfill your dream!"

Mikoto kicked Kuroko out of the cubicle, "That's none of your business, you pervert!"

Was Kuroko really a pervert or was she just cheering her up in a weird manner? Sometimes, it was hard to tell which is which.

* * *

Suzushina Yuriko rolled her eyes at the blimp cruising through the skies of Academy City. She hadn't taken her System Scan for more than two years and she was still ranked at the top. No wonder those Skill-Out losers are rioting at how unfair the city was. This System Scan was definitely rigged from the start. Besides, levels were something only good for putting more money into your bank account.

Against the Devil Kamijou Touma, levels and money meant nothing at all. Not even Academy City's cutting edge military technology stood a chance.

Yuriko could still remember that day clearly. The Devil showed her what "Absolute Power" truly meant and how weak she actually was.

"Onii-chan, could you bring me to the park?" A small girl with dark brown hair tied into two tiny ponytail by the sides said.

Yuriko clicked her tongue. "I'm a girl."

"But you look like a guy… a pretty guy!"

"Shut up."

It was definitely the jeans and t-shirt and her short hair, but why the fuck must she wear a dress just to prove that she was a female instead of those idiots opening their god damm eyes? And wasn't her voice enough proof already?

Yuriko took the girl's hands and walked into an alley.

The girl looked around nervously, "Are you sure that's the way to the park…?"

"It's a shortcut."

"But this place is dangerous. Sensei always tells us not to cut through alleys because there are horrible people inside."

"Did your sensei say that you can't enter even if you're with an adult?"

"Not really... but I'm scared those horrible people might hurt you!"

"Just be quiet. If you're too loud, those horrible people will start appearing like cockroaches."

A group of thugs appeared from a corner.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the strongest esper Suzushina Yuriko. What are you doing here with a kid?" A thug said.

"Fuck off." Yuriko said.

More thugs appeared. Some with blunt weapons like a sewer pipe, some with knives, and some with guns.

"You see, we just got a huge upgrade from the Level Upper. Today is the day we Skill-Outs finally beat your ass to the ground!"

Yuriko sighed. "Kid, you might want to close your eyes for a while."

Fucking idiots. When will they ever learn?

* * *

Yuriko walked out of the alley with a pile of unconscious bodies behind her. There was no blood because the girl refused to close her eyes.

"Yuri-nee, you're amazing! If I work hard, could I be a Level 5 just like you?" The girl said.

"Why do you want to be a Level 5?"

"Umm… because it's cool, and I can protect all my friends just like how you protected me!"

"You don't need to be a Level 5 to protect your friends."

"But being a Level 5 means you're someone with a lot of power. That's what it says on the brochure. Don't you need power to protect someone?"

Yuriko regretted not saying yes when the girl asked if hard work was enough to reach Level 5. What a pain.

"Ever heard of guns? If you get really good at guns, even if you're a Level 0, you still can protect your friends."

"Really? I think I heard it from somewhere… let me think..."

Yuriko decided that replying wasn't worth the possible questions she had to answer again in response.

It was funny though how having more power only seemed to make her less able to protect people.

Would achieving 'Absolute Power' like the Devil finally change that once and for all?

* * *

Mikoto put on a smile as she shook the hands of a nervous girl wearing a flower headband. "Hello, my name is Misaka Mikoto. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl bowed, "My name is Uiharu Kazari. It's a pleasure to meet you too!"

To everyone in Academy City, Misaka Mikoto was proof that hard work can indeed bring one to the top. This resulted in her gaining a lot of fans who were inspired by her hard work and wanted to be like her as well.

Uiharu Kazari was Kuroko's long time partner from the same Judgement Branch, and a big fan of her.

"Hi there, I'm Saten Ruiko, a friend of Uiharu. She decided to drag me all the way here, so here I am. By the way, I'm a Level 0."

"Saten, wh-what are you saying?!" Kazari said.

Mikoto offered her hand to Ruiko, "Nice to meet you as well."

"Thank you." Ruiko said, surprised.

It was Academy City's fault that people like Ruiko are so insecure about their levels. The higher levelled you are, the more money Academy City pays you. The difference in income levels alone was enough to cause a social divide in terms of both actual power and financial power.

Kuroko cleared her throat, "Now that introductions are over, let us all he-"

"How about the arcades?" Mikoto said. There was no way she would let Kuroko's perverted plans come to fruition.

Kazari and Ruiko looked at each other confused, "Arcades?"

"Is there anything wrong with arcades?" Mikoto said.

"Going to arcades is beneath your status, Onee-sama. Perhaps shopping would be a more appropriate choice." Kuroko said.

Mikoto smacked Kuroko with her briefcase, "For the last time Kuroko, we are not going lingerie shopping. If the both of you have no objections, then let's go."

"Yeah... sure." Kazari said.

Mikoto grabbed a flyer offered by someone as she wondered if she should be spending more of her time figuring out Leivnia's mysterious condition at research facilities instead of socializing and going to the arcade. But Kuroko really wanted her to meet Kazari, and sometimes solutions to impossible questions can be found in unexpected situations, so it wasn't really so bad.

The flyer was an advertisement for a Gekota giveaway from the new crepe store at a plaza up ahead. Wait what, there's a Gekota giveaway?! And only for the first two hundred customer?!

Mikoto felt a thud from behind. She somehow stopped walking and Ruiko bumped onto her.

"Sorry!" Mikoto said.

"Is anything the matter?" Ruiko said.

Kuroko smiled teasingly, "In the mood for crepes, Onee-sama? Or are you after something else?"

Mikoto's face flushed red, "Of course it's the crepes! I mean, it's just a stupid frog for kids. Which girl my age would possibly be interested in Gekota? Ridiculous."

Kuroko pointed at the Gekota keychain attached to Mikoto's briefcase.

Mikoto's face grew even redder when Ruiko and Kuroko suppressed their laughter. "It's a gift from someone else! I swear that's not me being interested in Gekota!"

"Hey," Kazari said. "Don't you guys think it's weird that the bank over there has its shutter down?"

There can be only one reason why a bank would have its shutter down in the afternoon.

Mikoto took out a sniper electrolaser rifle from her briefcase. "Kuroko, I'll neutralize the robbers from a distance. Just help me get them into a good position."

The good thing about bank robberies in Academy City is that the robbers can only escape from the entrance.

Kuroko put on her Judgement armband with a smile, "Got it, Railgun."

Mikoto turned to face a confused Ruiko with a smile before making some adjustment to her rifle. "Do you know if you get really good with guns, even if you're a Level 0, you can still can protect the ones you love. It's an unofficial Anti-Skill catchphrase."

"Shouldn't you be using your ability? Why are you using a gun?" Ruiko said.

"Because I want to show you that even a Level 0 can achieve something meaningful with the right kind of training."

"And also because Onee-sama has a tendency to get too carried away with her powers, so she uses the rifle as a way to limit herself. Otherwise, she's going to have to forfeit her monthly allowance to pay for collateral damages again." Kuroko said.

"Sh-Shut up!" Mikoto said. "Anyway, my point is being a Level 0 doesn't mean you're flawed. It's the educational system that is flawed."

The shutter exploded and Mikoto leaped into position behind a bush.

Instead of hiding her assassin skills, might as well flaunt it and twist them into something positive. Obviously Misaka Mikoto wasn't a real assassin working in the Dark Side because a 'real assassin' wouldn't be so dumb as to show off her skills and attract suspicion right? Also, the official reason was because of her intense custom Anti-Skill training program in the past, which was true on paper anyway.

If there was one nice thing Shokuhou Misaki ever did for her, it would be for helping her to hide her past in such a manner.

It would have been nice if she could trust and work together with Misaki just like how Kuroko was willing to trust and work together with her to take down the bank robbers even though she wasn't part of Judgement.

Misaki was once her friend after all.

* * *

Everything Ruiko thought about Misaka Mikoto was shattered in a single day.

"She's pretty weird for a Level 5. I mean, what Level 5 would carry around a gun, right? Is that why she's called the Railgun?" Ruiko said as she was walking back to her dormitory with Kazari.

"That's also part of the reason why, but you gotta admit that her electrolaser rifle looks really awesome! She could totally join Judgement and make a big difference if she wanted." Kazari said, her eyes filled with awe.

"She's definitely not an ojou-sama."

No ojou-sama would enjoy going to the arcades to play Bang Bang Revolution, read mangas at convenience stores and also has an unusually odd interest in Gekota.

"Maybe that's why she's so easy-going and doesn't look down on people at all. See Saten, you shouldn't judge Misaka too quickly."

"Yeah, yeah. My bad."

A quick internet search revealed that Misaka Mikoto had undergone a hellish custom Anti-Skill style training program when she was just a mere Level 0 and kept at it until she reached Level 5. No wonder she was also good with guns.

Mikoto definitely did put in a lot of hard work, but it was an impressive training program made possible with the fortune her deceased father left behind.

So much for 'hard work will get you there' and 'keep on trying, you'll make it someday'. What a load of crap. Even the hardworking Misaka Mikoto also needed an obscene amount of money to reach Level 5, a fact that Academy City conveniently omits.

Still, it was nice of Mikoto to try and encourage her that being a Level 0 doesn't matter, even though she was being too direct in her approach. But the reality is that being a Level 0 does matter in a lot of ways, something a Level 5 would never understand.

There were rumors about Level Upper, something that no one is exactly sure what exactly it is, but it increases the level of the esper who obtains it. Some say it doesn't exist, but if she were to get one for herself, surely it would solve all her problems about being a Level 0.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
**

While I got the idea of how to write this chapter fairly quickly, actually writing it and taking care of all the details took quite some time.

This is an AU after all, so I took the liberty to make some changes, which may or may not to be for the better but still I hope you liked the chapter enough :)

P.S: I wonder if you realized it, but memories wasn't the only thing Touma lost.


	6. Chapter 6

Mikoto handed the electrosniper rifle to a scientist inside a research facility.

"Thank you for your help in testing out the weapon. We will wire you the money to your bank account within a few days." The scientist said.

"No problem."

The real reason why she was carrying around the rifle was because she needed money to fund her setup to 'wake' Leivinia up from her coma.

With Academy City's technology, it was possible to extract a snapshot of Leivinia's brainwaves before she got inflicted with the curse, and use that snapshot to clone an exact copy of Leivinia. However, the process required a lot of computing power from the Tree Diagram, and also a lot money to borrow such an amount of power.

Mikoto left the research facility towards a bank.

She may be a Level 5 and rich, but she wasn't a billionaire.

Mikoto took a seat at the bank and picked up a pen, ready to sign a contract to borrow 20 billion yen in exchange for her services. To put it simply, she was selling herself into slavery in exchange for money and if she were to default on her debt, her mother's life and Touma's life would be considered forfeited.

The lady at the other side smirked, "Are you really sure?"

"Shut up."

Being in debt was the reason why she ended up working as an assassin in the Dark Side in the past. Her father did leave both her and her mother a fortune, but greedy relatives took advantage of the situation, conned her mother out of everything and even left her mother in heavy debt. To her mother, she had gotten a scholarship from Academy City to study, but the truth was that she was working for the Dark Side as an assassin to repay her mother's debt.

Mikoto thought that she was doomed to be trapped forever in this hell until Touma appeared in her life. She didn't know exactly how Touma managed to force or convince her debtors to forgive her debts because Touma refused to tell her details, but it definitely had something to do with Touma ending his relationship with his girlfriend Misaki before leaving Academy City.

Mikoto signed the contract.

She clutched the small Gekota keychain attached to her briefcase, "I'm sorry, Touma."

It was about time she repaid the favor anyway.

* * *

Touma stepped out of the hospital towards the sunny street of District 7. The doctor deemed him well enough after a quick routine checkup so he was released from the hospital earlier than scheduled.

"Don't hesitate to call me if you have any problems! See you." Misaki said before disappearing into the crowd. She was an attractive, busty blonde girl who was starry-eyed in the literal sense; her irises were stars instead of round like most other humans.

She seemed convinced that he was a Touma who lost his memories, but he was really another Kamijou Touma who supposedly belonged in an alternate world known as the "Pure World" beyond the "Phases" surrounding this world.

Academy City wasn't so different from the city he lived in back at the "Pure World". They were both the most advanced cities in their respective worlds except that his city was known as Mitakihara City instead of Academy City and there were no Board Of Directors and a General Superintendent governing Mitakihara City like a monarchy.

But Academy City was clearly the more advanced city compared to Mitakihara City. Academy City was so advanced that they even managed to unlock supernatural powers within people via their Power Curriculum Program. Those people in Academy City were referred to as espers.

Fortunately, six out of the ten espers around him are likely to have no powers despite going through the program with the remaining four having powers widely ranging from "being able to bend a spoon" to "fighting an army on equal terms".

All he could deduce from what little memories this Touma left behind was that he might have a chance of returning to his own world if he could somehow find a way across the "Phases"... that is if he actually wanted to return.

There was no reason left for him to return to his world anyway.

Since he was given a second chance at life, might as well make the best out of it in this new world.

Touma entered a supermarket and was pleasantly surprised to see eggs and vegetables at 30% off. Sales normally appear around evening when the supermarket was about to close, not in the middle of the day, but then again he was no longer in his own world. Things might be finally be different!

"I'm sorry. You seem to have not enough money in your card. Perhaps you could pay by cash instead?" The cashier said.

"No, I should be the one apologizing for wasting your time." Touma said.

Touma placed all the eggs and vegetables back and returned to another cashier with a pack of instant ramen. If there was one thing that would never change, it would be the amount of money in his bank account.

"I'm sorry." The cashier said, "But it seems that there is insufficient balance in your card. Perhaps you could pay by cash instead?"

"I think there might be an error in the scanner you're using. I mean, this pack of instant ramen is only a hundred yen. I can't possibly be that broke."

"Sir, there is no error in the scanner I'm using."

Touma took out his phone and reluctantly dialed Misaki's number.

Such misfortune.

* * *

Touma left the supermarket with a bag of necessities such as value packs of yakisoba bread and instant ramen.

Misaki transferred money into his bank account in exchange for him going out on a date with her. In some ways, this whole thing felt like him participating in compensated dating because Misaki was just a stranger to him. To Misaki however, this Kamijou Touma was her childhood friend and ex-boyfriend and maybe she wanted to use this as an excuse to ask him out.

His childhood friend back in his own world looked nothing like Misaki. The more Touma thought about it, the more he realized that maybe his world wasn't the "Pure World" beyond the "Phases" of this world. In the first place, what exactly does "Pure World" and the "Phases" even mean anyway? Either the memories left behind by the Touma of this world wasn't complete, or that he never understood them properly, only relying on what someone named "Amaterasu" told him.

A girl emerged from the alley and collapsed in front of Touma.

"Are you okay?!" Touma said. Shit. There were multiple burn wounds on the girl. Was 119 still the number to call for an ambulance in this world?

"I don't understand…" Tears streamed down the girl's cheek, "We're just doing our job to keep the city safe… why do they hate us so much?"

According to the girl, rogue espers have become increasingly more brazen in assaulting random Judgement personnels just because they were doing their job in upholding the laws of the city and today, it was finally her turn to get assaulted.

Touma took the green Judgement armband from the girl and entered the alley, making sure to slam the concrete wall with a sewer pipe every now and then so that the culprit would know of his presence.

He may not be from a world where it was normal to have people running about with supernatural powers, but he did have a supernatural power of his own which he never knew he had until he fought a magical girl in an alley.

His world was a world where aliens and magical girls exist in secret. It wouldn't be surprising if it was actually the aliens who actually teleported his soul into this world for whatever sick experiment they have in mind.

"Here to avenge your Judgement friend?" A man with a smirk plastered on his face said.

"Were you the one who injured that girl?"

"That girl? Ah, yeah. I was just having some fun with my new powers, and she had the audacity to stop me. Who does that Judgement bitch think she is anyway?"

Touma hurled the pipe at the man. A flame whip extending from the man's palm melted the pipe into liquid steel. So this was how his power worked. Pretty simple to counter with his right hand.

The man laughed, "Stupid fool! Try harder will you?"

Touma burst forth with his right hand clenched into a fist.

The man widened his eyes in complete horror as his flame whip dissipated into nothing upon contact with Touma's right hand.

"If you think you can get away with doing things as you please…"

Touma ducked an overhead sweep of the fire whip. His power may be a shitty power that failed to save anyone when it truly mattered, but at least it was good enough to punch the shit out of scums like him.

"...then let me first shatter that fucked up delusions of yours! "

Touma sent an uppercut across the scum's jaw before following up with a fist straight at his face.

The scum fell to the ground unconscious.

Touma let out a satisfied sigh. It felt good punching someone who totally deserved every bit of it.

Armed personnels arrived at the scene with a twin-tailed girl with a green Judgement armband. Accompanying the girl must be Anti-Skill, the equivalent of the Special Assault Unit in his world.

"Just in time." Touma said, "That guy lying over there was the guy who injured your colleague… what are you doing?!"

The twin-tailed girl handcuffed Touma while the guy was escorted on a stretcher by Anti-Skill towards the ambulance.

"Until we get the facts straightened out, I am going to have to hold you in custody for assaulting a man while impersonating as a Judgment personnel." The girl said.

"Such misfortune."

There was no point in arguing against the police from experience.

* * *

Kaitabi Hatsuya, a bespectacled man with a guanty frame, could not help but feel happy that this Judgement girl was finally being punished for her incompetence as he watched the paramedic applying treatment to her burn injuries. Even without her green armband, Hatsuya could still remember how incompetent she was when she arrived to his aid five minutes after the bullies gave him a good beating and stole all his money.

He stuffed a Gekota plushie into his bag with a maniacal glint in his eyes.

This was only the beginning of a new world where Judgement will finally wake up and start being competent for once.

* * *

Mikoto sipped her drink as she looked intensely at Ruiko's laptop about the latest happenings in Academy City.

Recently, there was a series of incidents involving bombs caused by accelerating gravitions. In the beginning, the "bombs" were only empty cans in garbage bins. Soon, the "bombs" took on the form of inconspicuous items such as stuffed toys or bags.

But no one ever cared about such important and serious incidents like that. All they care about was how Misaka Mikoto was being an arrogant bitch for carrying a rifle around during the bank robbery where the robbers were quietly taken down by her expert marksmanship skills with zero collateral damages caused; a fact that some rational forum users pointed out, but the majority were screaming at why a Level 5 who wasn't an Anti-Skill personnel could carry firearms without being charged under the law.

In Academy City, most people have the impression that only Anti-Skills personnels are legally allowed to possess firearms. Unknown to them, Level 5s are technically allowed to carry firearms as well because their powers alone could wipe entire armies. Heck, her opponents should be relieved if she was handicapping herself by fighting with a gun. Idiots.

"Try not to let those comments get to you." Ruiko said to Mikoto, "Internet forums are usually filled with people venting their anger on whatever that is happening at the moment."

Mikoto sighed, "Sometimes I think it doesn't really matter what I do. People will always find a way to criticise me."

The other time, people were complaining on the forums that she was being too reckless with her powers and causing a lot of damages to her surroundings just to handle a minor robbery case. Now that she was using a rifle to minimise her damages to zero, people were complaining that she was abusing her status as a Level 5 to do whatever she wants.

Ruiko stretched her arms, "You know, I don't really mind being criticized all the time if I had powers like yours. Even being a Level 1 would be enough for me. If only I had the Level Upper or something like that, then maybe I might actually have a chance to be a Level 5."

"Level Upper?"

"It's a tool that gives anyone a boost to their levels. It's a popular rumor floating about these days on the Internet but I don't think it actually exists though."

"Trust me, if Level Upper actually exist, you can bet that the Level 5s would be the first to be experimented on with that. No Kiharas would give up the chance to create a Level 6."

Attaining Level 6 or SYSTEM was really the whole point of this Power Curriculum Program and why Academy City was founded in the first place. The definition of a Level 6 was "Absolute Power", or the ability to do God's calculations and to possess a body beyond any humans. It would be a complete joke if Level Upper could actually boost a Level 5 to the point of being able to do God's calculations.

"That's true… but despite all the criticism being thrown at you, it must be a lot of fun being a Level 5, right?"

Mikoto forced a chuckle, "In a way, yeah. I'm sure if you work hard enough, you'll eventually get abilities of your own. Who knows, you might even surpass me one day."

If only Ruiko knew how "fun" being a Level 5 was. If only.

* * *

Mikoto flipped open her phone as she laid on her bed in the darkness.

People like Ruiko only see the glamorous side of a Level 5, but they fail to see what was hidden behind the scenes. She could have been an exception though, actually living a glamorous life as an ojou-sama, but for Touma's sake, she gave that up.

To pay off her debts, Mikoto had to take jobs from the Dark Side listed on an hidden intranet server. The only good thing as a Level 5 now was that she could now accept whatever job offers she wanted instead of being forced by her handler to accept jobs she hated.

The grace period for repayment was two months, so this meant Mikoto could ignore any job offers for the next two months except for jobs that would pay 10 billion yen or more at one go if she completed them. Rejecting such a job meant that she had no intention of paying off her debts and thus, her mother and Touma's life would be considered forfeit. After the grace period of two months, she had to take a minimum of three jobs in a week or else this would also mean that she had no intention of paying off her debts.

At least she could still enjoy her life for two more months. Might as well make the best out of it.

"Hey Kuroko, wanna go shopping tomorrow?"

Kuroko turned away from her laptop screen, "It's a tempting offer, but I'll pass this time. Recently, there has been a huge spike in espers assaulting Judgement members. And the graviton bomb incidents had also left many other of our Judgement members injured. I can't help but suspect that this might be a coordinated effort to take down Judgement."

"But why?"

"That's what I'm still trying to figure out. What's the reason behind the huge spike of such attacks?"

"Maybe I could help out with the investigations as well."

"Onee-sama, please leave the investigations to Judgement." Kuroko said. "Although if you really want to help out, you could apply to join Judgement. Given your status as a Level 5 and previous Anti-Skill training, your application would be approved within an hour."

"No thanks. I prefer working alone. Besides, don't you sometimes get frustrated at how bureaucratic Judgement can be?"

"I do, but sometimes it can't be helped because Judgement is a large organization after all. And for the last time Onee-sama, st-"

"Stop interfering with Judgement work. Yeah, yeah, got it. Good night."

Mikoto hurled a blanket over herself and went to sleep.

Although Judgement may be annoying, but that was no reason to attack the members who work hard to maintain peace and order in the city.

I'll get to the bottom of this. Mikoto thought. No one could convince her otherwise.

* * *

Mikoto looked around the shops in Seventh Mist with Ruiko and Kazari as she pieced together her findings by hacking into Judgement's database and Academy City's database.

To be able to create bombs by accelerating gravitons would mean that the esper behind it must be of Level 4. However, there was only one Level 4, and she had been hospitalized for the past six months, so it was impossible for her to be the culprit.

The only possible explanation was either a discrepancy in Academy City's database, which shouldn't be possible because the database was updated recently with the results of the System Scan.

Or the culprit gained a huge amount of power in a very short amount of time, which shouldn't be possible unless Level Upper actually existed.

Either way, she had hit a wall in her investigations. No wonder Kuroko was losing sleep over this incident.

"Hey Misaka, is there anything you'd like to get?" Kazari said.

"Me? Pyjamas I guess."

Kazari guided Mikoto towards the pyjamas section with an enthusiastic smile. Meanwhile, Ruiko kept showing Kazari erotic lingeries on the way, much to Kazari's embarrassment.

Mikoto chuckled. At least Ruiko was just being playful. On the other hand, Kuroko was always asking her to "grow up" and start wearing something more mature like the ones Ruiko was showing to Kazari. Sorry, but those mature lingeries can never beat the comfiness of Gekota panties.

And then, a pink pyjamas displayed prominently at a store caught her eye. The pink background color of the pyjamas was a perfect complement to the flowery design around it.

"Hey!" Mikoto said. "Check this out! Isn't it really cu-"

"Uiharu, isn't that the pyjamas you wore during elementary school? I totally can't imagine anyone our age wearing such childish pyjamas." Ruiko said.

"I think wearing that would be even embarrassing than the erotic panties you showed me just now." Kazari said.

Mikoto stared at both of them in complete shock. Was it really that childish?!

"What's wrong?" Ruiko said to Mikoto.

"No-nothing at all!" Mikoto said. "Yes, I totally agree with what you said. No one our age should be wearing such a childish piece of clothing. Definitely not."

Both Ruiko and Kazari looked at each other, confused.

"Speaking of which, I really need to get a new bath suit." Kazari said. "Misaka, would you like to come with us?"

"No thanks, I'll be here looking at pyjamas." Mikoto said.

Kazari left for the bath suit section with Ruiko, but they both stopped halfway at the bikini section with Ruiko teasing Kazari again.

Mikoto grabbed the pink pyjamas and jumped in front of a mirror. This was her chance to see how awesome she would look.

She jumped at Kuroko's sudden appearance behind her.

"Onee-sama." Kuroko said. "How many times have I told you to stop buying such childish pyjamas."

"That's none of your business! Anyway, I thought you couldn't make it because of Judgement work. What happened?"

"Nothing much. I'm just taking a break from the investigation."

"So how's the investigation so far?"

"Onee-sama, are you really asking me that? Whatever you got from hacking into Judgement's database is whatever we have so far. And to think I just told you last night not to interfere with Judgement's work."

Mikoto smiled embarrassingly, "I'm sure Judgement needs all the help they can get right now. I promise I won't cause too much trouble!"

Kuroko sighed, "I guess desperate times calls for desperate measures. I'll… make an exception this time. But just this time, you hear me!"

Mikoto's eyes lit up at the Gekota plushie that Kazari was holding. This wasn't just any Gekota plushie. This Gekota plushie was part of the first edition series that Mikoto have been waiting for a year already for someone to sell it on the online Gekota marketplace.

"May I know who's the owner of this plushie?" Mikoto said.

"Eh?" Kazari said. "I guess that would be me? This little girl gave it to me as thanks for helping her find her bag the other day."

The little girl beside Kazari waved hello with a big smile.

Ruiko grinned, "A million yen and it's yours."

Mikoto whipped out her smartphone, "No problem. What's your bank account number? I'll transfer the money to you immediately."

Kazari handed the Gekota plushie to Mikoto, "Don't listen to Saten. Here, you can have it for free. Besides, I'm not exactly into Gekota anyway."

Mikoto hugged Kazari while Kuroko was shaking her head at how childish Mikoto was behind.

"Thank you so much! I'll never forget your kindness!" Mikoto said.

Finally, after a year of waiting, this super rare first edition Gekota plushie was finally hers. Wait, why is the plushie shrinking into nothing?!

"Onee-sama! It's a graviton bomb!" Kuroko said.

Mikoto hurled the Gekota plushie aside and formed an iron prison around the plushie by ripping off everything that was metallic around her through electromagnetism.

The iron prison shook violently, but remained intact.

Mikoto took a deep breath. She successfully managed to contain the explosion, but not without damages to the surrounding shops. At least no one got hurt.

"Little girl." Mikoto said, sparks angrily flying off her bangs, "Where did you get this plushie?"

The little girl choked on her tears before she managed to give a description of a bespectacled man who first gave her this plushie.

Mikoto hacked into Academy City's database with her PDA, and showed the little girl a list of espers who had the ability to accelerate gravitons.

The little girl confirmed that it was this bespectacled man named Kaitabi Hatsuya who gave her the Gekota plushie.

Mikoto leaped up through the rooftop. How dare that Kaitabi scumbag use Gekota as ammo for his explosion! He'll fucking pay for this!

* * *

Touma walked out of his cell after being detained for a day, which really wasn't exactly a cell when his childhood friend Misaki got involved by making sure that he gets a TV, the most comfortable bed in his cell, and restaurant quality meals. If this world was an RPG, then he was a Level 1 newbie being carried through the game by the Level 99 veteran Shokuhou Misaki.

It might seem like a blessing, but the more kinder Misaki treated him, the more uneasy Touma felt. He didn't have the heart to tell her that the Touma she loved has been completely replaced by a Touma from another world.

Touma entered a lecture room. While Anti-Skill finally confirmed that the guy Touma punched was the guy who assaulted a Judgement member, and that there was also an understandable reason for him to impersonate a Judgement member, a Anti-Skill captain and his PE teacher Yomikawa Aiho would like to have a word with him before his release.

Yomikawa Aiho was a mature lady with an impressive chest comparable to Misaki's own chest. To be able to overcome the weight of her chest and still be considered fit enough to be the captain of Anti-Skill must mean that her fitness was far more superior than most other female captains.

"Before I say anything, I would like you to watch this video recorded just two hours ago." Aiho said.

In the video, a brown-haired girl fired an orange beam towards a moving car. The shockwaves caused the surrounding cars to crash into each other, and there was also a deep gash on the asphalt surface.

"What do you think of this girl?" Aiho said.

"I'm sure she had a good reason for doing so."

"Of course. You also had a good reason for impersonating a Judgement member to lure out the culprit. But if everyone starts doing things their way because they had a 'good reason' for doing so, then there would be no more law and order in Academy City." Aiho sighed, "So please, next time just contact Judgement and Anti-Skill instead of rushing off and doing your own thing. Have some faith in us."

Touma nodded. "Yes madam, I understand."

If he didn't do so, Captain Aiho might just decide to detain him for another day or two for being unrepentant.

"Good, you may leave."

* * *

By some luck, Touma met the brown-haired girl in the video on his way out of the Anti-Skill building. She was apparently here to settle some paperwork for the damages she caused two hours ago while pursuing a culprit named Kaitabi Hatsuya responsible for a series of bombing incidents around Academy City.

Ironically, Kaitabi Hatsuya carried out the bombings because he lost faith in Judgement and Anti-Skill, so he wanted to punish them through the bombs.

"It can't be helped right?" Mikoto said. "What if Judgement and Anti-Skill failed to arrest that guy and he manages to hurt even more people as a result of that?"

The brown-haired girl was Misaka Mikoto, his friend who visited him once briefly in the hospital. She seemed surprised that he was discharged from the hospital earlier than expected until he mentioned Misaki.

Mikoto said that her relationship between Misaki and him was too complicated, so Touma decided not to ask any further for now.

"I can tell that you don't have any faith in Anti-Skill and Judgement as well." Touma said.

"Not really. They're just too slow, so I have no choice but to step in."

If anything, Mikoto looked more like his childhood friend from his world than Misaki. The both of them had short hair and tend to behave impulsively to do the things they believe is right. If it was his childhood friend Sayaka instead of Mikoto, surely Sayaka would have done the same as well.

"Exactly."

He told Mikoto about the incident a day before when he decided to take matters into his own hands by impersonating as a Judgement member to lure out the scum who assaulted a random Judgement girl. If he hadn't done that and decided to call Anti-Skill or Judgement and wait for them to do something, then the scum would have gotten away with it.

For a brief moment, their eyes locked against each other, as if they had finally found someone who could truly understand them.

Mikoto's face flushed red as she averted her gaze, "St-Stop looking at me like that! I'm not your girlfriend!"

"Sorry, you just remind me of someone."

"Remind you of who? Misaki? You might not know this, but Misaki was your ex-girlfriend."

"Yeah… maybe."

Touma couldn't really tell Mikoto that she reminded him of Sayaka.

Maybe, just maybe, Sayaka had been reincarnated as Misaka Mikoto in this new world. If this was really the case, he could finally move on in peace.

Who was he kidding.

Misaka Mikoto is Misaka Mikoto, and Miki Sayaka is Miki Sayaka. They are two different person despite their similarities. It would be very unfair to Mikoto if he were to start confusing her as another person who no longer existed.

The other Touma however, was a fucking asshole for unfairly treating Mikoto like his girlfriend, holding hands and kissing her while refusing to officially acknowledge her as one.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

While there is a pretty blatant connection to the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series in this story, this is not a crossover, so there will be no Witches, no Magical Girls, no Soul Gems and no Incubator running around in Academy City turning young girls into magical girls. In fact, you don't need to know anything about PMMM to understand what's going on.

All you really need to understand is that there are aliens (Incubators) trying to understand the laws of magic of the To Aru world using their own alien technology. From there, you probably should be able to have a better idea what exactly "Amaterasu" and "Tsukiyomi" are, and their true motives. The final chapter... if I ever get to that point, will explain it more clearly.

(To those of you who did watch the PMMM series, I suppose the word "contract" would be quite telling.)

Anyway, instead of a Touma with his memories completely wiped, I decided to go for an alternate Touma from another world with some memories of the old Touma because it seemed more interesting. I mean, since I mentioned "Pure World" in the previous few chapters, might as well go for it and bring in a Touma from the "Pure World", which really isn't the "Pure World".

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)


End file.
